By JESSE GRAHAM
SIX members of the Toolangi Fire Brigade went under the razor over the weekend to raise thousands for cancer sufferers.
Adrian Lewis, Nicola Rose, Ben Rose, Dawn Hartog, Bruce McClements and Jack Walhout had their hair either coloured or sheared off on Sunday 15 March as part of the World’s Greatest Shave.
The group was joined by about 30 community members, who came along to support the brigade members as hairdresser Amanda Webber set to work.
Ms Rose told the Mail that, as of Monday 16 March, the group had raised over $7800, with donation pledges still to come in.
She said she was stunned by the generosity of residents and friends’ donations to their campaign, and that the brigade was happy to throw their support behind the World’s Greatest Shave.
“We felt it was a very good cause, and it was a lovely thing that the brigade could do,” Ms Rose said.
“The community has always been really generous to us, and it was nice to be able to fund-raise for someone else.”
Money donated to the World’s Greatest Shave goes towards the Lukaemia Foundation for medical research, as well as support programs and transport for people diagnosed with the disease and their families.
Ms Rose thanked the community, which, she said, was quick to rally behind important causes.
“Everyone was so generous with their donations – I think it’s because most people have either known somebody who has been battling cancer or has battled it themselves,” Ms Rose said.
“Even though the World’s Greatest Shave is for blood cancers, knowing people who have had breast cancer, ovarian cancer or skin cancer, people are touched by it and they want to do something to help.”
Ms Rose said she was getting used to her clean-shaven head, though her kids were taking longer to become accustomed to it.
She said that she donated her hair to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths campaign, which used donated hair to make wigs for people undergoing cancer treatments.
Hair donated to the campaign must be at least 20cm in length.
For more information on the World’s Greatest Shave, visit www.worldsgreatestshave.com.
For more information on the Beautiful Lengths campaign, visit www.beautifullengths.com.au.
